CSR and Communication Strategy Report: A Wesfarmers Case Study

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Wesfarmers' corporate communication strategies, with a specific focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and issues management. It explores the integration of CSR theories with issues management practices to enhance stakeholder communication and overall organizational effectiveness. The report evaluates Wesfarmers' stakeholder engagement, community involvement, and sustainability initiatives, highlighting the consistency of their corporate messages. Recommendations are provided for better management of CSR activities and leveraging media to improve public perception. The analysis emphasizes the importance of CSR in today's corporate world, particularly for large retail enterprises like Wesfarmers, and offers insights into how effective communication can contribute to long-term organizational growth and development. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering study tools and resources for students.

0Running head: CORPORATE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY AND CSR
CORPORATE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY AND CSR
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
The report is focused towards finding the effective ways corporate communications
management systems implemented across the corporate organizations. The specific aim is to
increase the knowledge of corporate communications and apply the same in the context of an
actual organization. The organization in focus for the study is Wesfarmers. The concepts of
Corporate Social Responsibility, Issues management, organizational communication and
integration of organizational processes have been essentially analyzed and discussed through
the report. The topic has been introduced in accordance of its significance towards the
organizational setup of Wesfarmers. Moving forward the concept of CSR and issues
management have been evaluated. The study has further evaluated the stakeholder
communication of Wesfarmers. The recommendation for better management and implications of
the study have been given subsequently.

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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 3
Integrating CSR and issues management theories......................................................................3
CSR theories............................................................................................................................ 3
Issues management.................................................................................................................4
CSR issues management.........................................................................................................4
Role of CSR within organization..................................................................................................4
Role of CSR issues management in organization........................................................................5
Consistency of corporate messages in communication...............................................................6
Overall communication evaluation and recommendations...........................................................7
Conclusion................................................................................................................................... 9
References................................................................................................................................ 10

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Introduction
The report is focused towards improving knowledge and understanding of corporate
communications that take place across various organizations. The organization in focus for the
study is Wesfarmers. The significant aspects of corporate communications in the organization
are analyzed through the study. Moreover the significant role of CSR within the functional
dimensions of Wesfarmers is essentially evaluated. There are specific issues affecting the
communication functions of the organization that are identified. Subsequently, the resolution of
the issues are recommended through the study. Corporate social responsibility and corporate
communications are both very important factors governing effectiveness of large organizations.
They have become central to the long term organizational growth and development.
Wesfarmers being a retail sector enterprise can be affected greatly by the factors. The study is
focused towards discussing the how corporate communications can be implemented in the
context of corporate social responsibility for the organization. Considering the larger
perspective, this can help towards finding the essential aspects of the subject matter in the
context of the wider corporate scene.
Integrating CSR and issues management theories
CSR theories
Corporate Social Responsibility or Corporate Social Responses are also known as CSR.
It can be defined as a business model that focuses on the maintenance of social accountability
for a company. CSR activities of organizations are focused towards contributing towards the
positive growth of the society. This includes economic, social and environmental growth of the
surrounding within which an organization operates (Maignan & Ferrell, 2004). There are many
theories in regard to CSR management across organizations. According to some theories CSR
should be viewed through the perspective of social obligation. Hence, the social obligation
theories focus towards the performance of those functions that are the most productive towards
establishing social values. CSR in other theories is to be treated as a stakeholder obligation.
The stakeholder obligation theory states that stakeholders on the whole should contribute
towards the positive development of all levels of stakeholders that are associated with its
business. The stakeholders are grouped into organizational, community, regulatory and media
(Dahlsrud, 2008). This theory wants organizations to focus specifically on those groups that are
directly or indirectly affected by the activities of the organization. The ethics driven theory of
CSR focuses on the ethical perspectives of CSR management considering social responsibility

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over self-interest. Positive social commitment is to be considered the primary factor that guides
the social initiatives of organizations (Schwartz, 2017).
Issues management
Issues management refers to strategic management that is anticipatory in nature. It
helps organizations to observe the trends that are emerging in the context of the existing socio-
political scenarios. Hence, organizations tend to engage in management of the right
stakeholders in accordance with the requirements of the anticipated change in environments.
Issues management is concerned with enhancing communication through efficient
communication leadership. The Administrative theory states that activities of the organization
are coordinated effort of humans. Hence administrative functions can be said to be the only
criteria for measuring the imminent situations of the future (Wartick & Rude, 1986). The rational
choice theory of issues management focuses on selecting one more desirable future state from
the others. The theory also focuses on the ethical considerations that are required for better
decision making. The Issues management theories mostly concern the decision making
functions of organizations putting into perspective the future occurrences that can affect the
organization. The focus is towards the optimal usage of expertise, authority, coordination and
mutual consistency towards assessing the future possibilities and making the right decisions.
CSR issues management
Integration of CSR with issues management can help in the better management of the
CSR functions of the organizations. Like other organizational aspects CSR can also be
governed by the requirements of specific times. CSR issues management refers to the issues
that might affect the future CSR of the various organizations. Hence, issues management can
be used to anticipate future situations and devise effective CSR in respect of the findings that
will emerge. Issues management helps thee organizations to be ready for the situations that
might arise in the future. In essence, CSR is one such important functional aspect of an
organization that requires issue management greatly. Varied political, economic and social
factors can essentially govern the environmental situations that can be created in the future of
any organization. It becomes much important that organizations plan their activities considering
judiciously the aspects that can govern their future CSR initiatives (Maignan & Ralston, 2002).
CSR issues management is greatly required to enhance the productiveness of the
organization’s initiatives for the society.

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Role of CSR within organization
CSR in the present corporate world has become much important towards increasing the
functional effectiveness of organizations. With the growth in organizational stakeholders there
has been anticipated a definite need for the enhancement of CSR activities that can contribute
towards better stakeholder management (Schwartz, 2017). Wesfarmers have found over the
years that better CSR leads to better stakeholder support. The main issues that have led to
increased preference being given by organizations to CSR activities is the recent growth of
accountability for organizations. According to Maignan and Ferrel (2005) a significant marketing
based approach has been developed over the years towards CSR. More importantly, the need
for growth and development of the profitability of organizations are being directly linked to the
need for being better socially responsible entities. It is important to understand that in the
contemporary corporate scenarios companies are viewed as strong organizational entities that
can provide their fair share in developing the society. The large scale retail business that
Wesfarmers partake in the existing social environments makes it even more important for them
to address the various issues that affect the environments. Maignan and Ferrel (2005) further
opine that consumer reaction to CSR initiatives have generated positive reviews in favor of
various companies.
Essentially, it can be said that customers are being more affected by the CSR of the
companies that provides them with goods and services. This is also the case with Wesfarmers.
The company is focused towards engaging with the local communities and minimizing
environmental impact. The key stakeholders for Wesfarmers are people, community,
environment and suppliers. The company takes part in activities that ensure mutually beneficial
community engagement. Moreover, the company is also engaged in serving better the people
that are associated with it. The suppliers are the essential stakeholders of Wesfarmers and the
company engages in sourcing activities that are focused towards sustainability and mutually
beneficial relationships. The organization paid 47 billion dollars to the suppliers to increase their
value. The company sources from various third world countries and ensures that the employees
from these countries such as Bangladesh, India and Vietnam are treated well (Group, 2018).
The company regularly takes part in community help initiatives like child welfare and other
activities. The organization is also committed towards the growth of Arts in the Australia and
New Zealand regions. The indigenous communities are essential stakeholders of the
organization. The company is dedicated towards improving businesses in the areas dominated
by Aboriginals and Torres Strait islanders. The RAP was implemented by the company to
ensure better engagement of the community and increase in integrated and inclusive workforce.

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Role of CSR issues management in organization
Wesfarmers has to engage in a wide number of stakeholder management initiatives.
These are focused towards the large public that the organization essentially comprises of. As
mentioned earlier the company is a retail enterprise with large number of stakeholders engaging
from the customers to local communities to suppliers across the country. The Wesfarmers over
the years have been successful in maintaining high levels of CSR initiatives to address their
diverse stakeholders. The main CSR features that the organization needs to effectively manage
are community engagement, supplier management, environmental sustenance, people
engagement and sourcing. The organization employs 217 thousand people and pays over 9
billion dollars to the employees. Around 47 billion dollars are paid to the suppliers of the
organization. Moreover, around 148 million Australian dollars have been provided by the
company towards community welfare (Group, 2018).
The company increasingly focuses towards sustainable practices through its CSR
activities. The company is not only focused towards community relations and sustainable
practices but at the same time significantly manages activities that promote art and culture. The
indigenous community development plans in the past have been able to provide better
employment opportunities to the indigenous community members and improved greatly their
living standards. Media can be significantly used towards further increasing their CSR
programs. The role of media will be more than just to enhance the CSR prospects for the
organization (Ni & Van Wart, 2015). They will enhance the public reach of the organization. As
an example the community development programs and the sustainable resource utilization
procedures can be filmed through documentaries and used across seminars and conferences
focusing on CSR. The mass media and news agencies can be utilized towards promoting the
brand reputation. In essence media agencies can be used towards establishing the contribution
of the organization towards the development of sustainable and socially responsible practices
for enhancing their image. This can contribute towards better public reception of their products
and services in the future.
Consistency of corporate messages in communication
Wesfarmers was formed essentially as a farmer’s cooperative and tries to maintain their
cooperative, sustainable and development oriented image throughout their operational
processes (Group, 2018). The company maintains a record for all of its sustainable practices
that can be easily accessed through their website. Moreover, the company is focused towards
maintaining both internal and external communications that provide clear messages about their

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CSR activities. The company maintains CSR activities that are focused towards both their
external and internal stakeholders.
The company provides detailed information in regards to the green marketing activities
that they promote. Wesfarmers provide annual reports, sustainability reports and investor
centers. The information of the company is easily accessible by all its major stakeholders. The
company maintains a reasonable salary structure for its employees. Additionally, the
organization focuses greatly towards providing greater returns to the investors. As of 2018, the
company has paid more than 2.5 billion dollars’ worth of dividends to its shareholders. The
messages are quite consistent with the CSR functions of the organization. It is important to note
that different kinds of stakeholders need to be communicated through different messages.
The different stakeholders of the company are communicated through messages that
best suit their requirements. Hence, Wesfarmers at the group level takes essential care to
consider the needs of the stakeholder’s group needs (Group, 2018). The shareholders are
provided updated information through one optimized portal that is connected with its official
website. The consumers are approached through specific feedback mechanisms that are
considered for quality improvement. All business units of the organization has the specific
feedback mechanisms for the customers. The employees of the company are valued greatly.
The company follows an open culture to manage the issues of the employees. The messages
are clear and focused towards greater development of their productivity. The suppliers are
essential stakeholders of the organization they are managed through effective negotiations. The
organization communicates with various farm cooperatives to enhance their mutually beneficial
relationships. Various programs are organized to improve supplier engagement. The company
also maintains effective media, government, community and non-government stakeholders.
The communication processes and the various messages that are addressed towards
the various stakeholders are optimized and integrated into the wider communication network of
the organization (Morsing & Schultz, 2006). Wesfarmers maintains an essential balance
between the messages that are focused specifically towards the various stakeholders of the
company. The effectiveness of the messages and the consistency further adds to the efficiency
of the communication process.
Overall communication evaluation and recommendations
The overall effectiveness of the communication process is good for the company.
Wesfarmers have been able to be recognized as company with well-defined and diverse range

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of CSR activities. Essentially CSR activities help in the development of efficient communication
between an organization and the large number of stakeholders that are connected with it. The
same contributes towards increasing the recognition of Wesfarmers as an organization actively
engaging in environmentally productive functions. However, there are still certain areas that can
be optimized for greater benefit of the organization.
The First recommendation that can be made is in regards to better promotion of green
farming and ecologically sustainable production initiatives. The company needs to pay more
attention towards improving the environment of green farming in Australia and the New Zealand.
This can be done through the introduction of initiatives that are focused towards improving the
prospects of green farming across the larger farms of the country. The CSR activities in this
case should be pointed towards the development of green farms across the country.
Subsequently, the company should appoint these green farms as their major suppliers. This
process need to be done in various phases in order to develop better prospects for green
farming in the country in the future. The company could further improve their campaign by
promoting the usage of organic fertilizers for farming. The development of the concept will be
feasible for the company as it will be done in phases. Each phase can have its objectives and
until the objectives are met the phases can continue. The company can establish cooperative
relationships with various farm cooperatives to develop better CSR programs concerning green
farming. In essence, this initiative can be the first large scale initiative by and enterprise and
contribute to the generation of greater market value for the organization.
A significant recommendation that can be made in regards to the operational aspects of
Wesfarmers is an integrated PR and event management division formation. It is important that
in order to successfully integrate all the major functions that the organization has the company
establishes effective divisions that will specifically be focused towards efficiently managing the
CSR activities and the public relations for the company. It is important that dedicated
organizational divisions are given responsibility to manage the organizational communications.
However, the specific division will also look towards the internal CSR as well as the external
activities. The team can effectively work towards the benefit of the organization as it will also
manage the long term CSR initiatives that have been taken by the organization. The division will
be crucial towards determining organizational success of Wesfarmers in the future. CSR has
been one of the more important aspects of the organization. It has also led to greater
organizational growth. The main benefit of a dedicated CSR oriented team will be that it will
become much easier to organize and communicate CSR activities. The charity organizations

9CORPORATE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY AND CSR
that are supported by the organization can also be accountable to the organization through this
department.
Conclusion
CSR initiatives have become much more than just tools to generate favorable opinion
about any organization. They are being increasingly integrated within the operational
frameworks of the various organizations. The implications of the report point towards the fact
that companies that have to engage in more customer service activities need to have good CSR
initiatives in order to maintain their long term productive functioning. Wesfarmers were found to
be an organization that engages in large scale and diversified CSR in order to effectively
maintain their growth and development. The company has been successful in managing the
CSR activities. The organization was also found to maintain significantly consistent
communication techniques to address their large stakeholder base. If the recommendations can
be incorporated within their activities, it can provide them better future scope for productivity.

10CORPORATE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY AND CSR
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